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<h1><font color="#e00000">PF: The OpenBSD Packet Filter</font></h1>
<hr>

<p>
<h3>Table of Contents</h3>
<ul>
<li>Basic Configuration
	<ul>
	<li><a href="config.html">Getting Started</a>
	<li><a href="macros.html">Lists and Macros</a>
	<li><a href="tables.html">Tables</a>
	<li><a href="filter.html">Packet Filtering</a>
	<li><a href="nat.html">Network Address Translation</a>
	<li><a href="rdr.html">Traffic Redirection (Port Forwarding)</a>
	<li><a href="shortcuts.html">Shortcuts For Creating Rulesets</a>
	</ul>
<li>Advanced Configuration
	<ul>
	<li><a href="options.html">Runtime Options</a>
	<li><a href="scrub.html">Scrub (Packet Normalization)</a>
	<li><a href="anchors.html">Anchors</a>
	<li><a href="queueing.html">Packet Queueing and Prioritization</a>
	<li><a href="pools.html">Address Pools and Load Balancing</a>
	<li><a href="tagging.html">Packet Tagging (Policy Filtering)</a>
	</ul>
<li>Additional Topics
	<ul>
	<li><a href="logging.html">Logging</a>
	<li><a href="perf.html">Performance</a>
	<li><a href="ftp.html">Issues with FTP</a>
	<li><a href="authpf.html">Authpf: User Shell for Authenticating
Gateways</a>
	<li><a href="carp.html">Firewall Redundancy with CARP and pfsync</a>
	</ul>
<li>Example Rulesets
	<ul>
	<li><a href="example1.html">Firewall for Home or Small
	Office</a>
	</ul>
</ul>

<hr>

<p>
Packet Filter (from here on referred to as PF) is OpenBSD's system
for filtering TCP/IP traffic and doing Network Address Translation. PF
is also capable of normalizing and conditioning TCP/IP traffic and
providing bandwidth control and packet prioritization. PF has been a
part of the GENERIC OpenBSD kernel since OpenBSD 3.0. Previous OpenBSD
releases used a different firewall/NAT package which is no longer
supported.

<p>
PF was originally developed by Daniel Hartmeier and is now maintained and
developed by Daniel and the rest of the OpenBSD team.  

<p>
This set of documents, also available in
<a href="ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/doc/pf-faq.pdf">PDF</a>
format, is intended as a general introduction to the
PF system as run on OpenBSD. Even if it covers all of PF's major
features, it is only intended to be used as a supplement
to the <a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi"
>man pages</a>, and not as a replacement for them.

<p>
For a complete and in-depth view of what PF can do, please start by
reading the
<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=pf&amp;sektion=4&amp;manpath=OpenBSD+4.3"
>pf(4)</a> man page.

<p>
As with the rest of the FAQ, this set of documents is focused on users of
<a href="../../43.html">OpenBSD 4.3</a>.
As PF is always growing and developing, there are changes and
enhancements between the
4.3-release
version and the version in OpenBSD-current as well as differences
between
4.3 
and earlier versions.
The reader is advised to see the man pages for the version of OpenBSD
they are currently working with.

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